Joseph “Joe” Stoma, 99, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 in his home.   Joe, the baby of 10, was born to Habib and Katoun Stoma on July 6, 1925, in Zwolle, La.  Upon graduating from High School in 1942, he enlisted in the United States Navy, deploying to the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II as a Navigator’s Mate on the USS Laws (DD 558).

After completing his naval service in 1945, Joe attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles, until moving west to ply his trade as a card dealer in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, where he earned the nickname “The Pelican” as he was from Louisiana, “The Pelican State.” 

In the Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe tourism “off-season” Joe traveled home to Louisiana to help his nine older siblings in the family restaurants.  In 1955, he met Janet Gervais of Jennings, La.  They married in 1957 and embarked on a journey of lifelong adventures until Janet’s death on Dec. 1, 2020.

A successful businessman and entrepreneur, Joe opened his first clothing store in Sulphur, La. in 1957, moving the business to Third Avenue in Lake Charles in 1968, where it would become the iconic S&M Bargain City. 

Joe’s charitable works and acts of kindness to his family and community can never be fully measured.  He was a man of incredible generosity that touched the lives of many.

Those left to cherish his memory are his children, Steven Stoma (Libby), Kristine Carter (Fred), Kerin Comte (Biff), Julie Walsh (David), Angela Crawford (Craig); 11 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 63 years, Janet Gervais Stoma; his parents, Habib and Katoun Stoma; his siblings, Minnie Mahfouz, Nellie Maxey, Helen Rome, Mary McNess, Eva Menga, Tom, Emmit, George and Fred Stoma.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 935 Bilbo St., Lake Charles, La. Visitation will be in the church on Monday from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., with a rosary being recited at 10 a.m.  Msgr. Jace Eskind will serve as Celebrant.  Interment and full military honors will follow in Orange Grove Cemetery under the direction of Johnson Funeral Home. 

The family would like to give special thanks to Judd Mahfouz, Rachel Duncan, Yvonner Caeser, Gayle Spencer, Helen Nash, J-Shante Washington and Lamonica Dixon.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to The Joe and Janet Stoma Business Scholarship Fund at McNeese State University, Catholic Charities, or the cahrity of your choice.

Words of comfort to the family may be expressed at www.johnsonfuneral home.net.